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Islam
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Christianity
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adherents called
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Muslims
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Christians
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current adherents
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1.3 billion
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2 billion
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current size rank
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2nd largest
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largest
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| major concentration |
Middle East, Southeast Asia
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Europe, North and South America, rapid growth in
Africa
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| sacred text |
Qur'an (Koran)
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Bible (Jewish Bible + New Testament)
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| other written authority |
Hadith
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church fathers, church councils, papal decrees
(Catholic only)
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| religious law |
Sharia
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Canon Law
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| clergy |
imams
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priests, ministers, pastors, bishops
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| house of worship |
mosque
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church, chapel, cathedral
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| main day of worship |
Friday
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Sunday
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| church and state |
integrated
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separate
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Origins & History:
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Islam
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Christianity
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date founded
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622 CE
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c. 33 CE
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place founded
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Saudi Arabia
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Palestine
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founder
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Muhammad
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Jesus
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original language(s)
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Arabic
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Aramaic, Greek
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early expansion
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within 12 years, entire Arabian peninsula;
within 100 years, Muslim world stretched from the Atlantic to
China
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within 60 years, churches in major cities in
Palestine, Turkey, Greece and Rome (map);
entire Roman Empire by end of 4th cent.
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major splits
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Shia/Sunni, c. 650 CE
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Catholic/Orthodox, 1054 CE; Catholic/Protestant,
1500s CE
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Islam
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Christianity
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| type of theism |
strict monotheism
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Trinitarian monotheism
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ultimate reality
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one God
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one God
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names of God
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Allah (Arabic for God)
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Yahweh, the Holy Trinity
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| other spiritual beings |
angels, demons, jinn
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angels and demons
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| revered humans |
prophets, imams (especially in Shia)
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saints, church fathers
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| identity of Jesus |
true prophet of God, whose message has been
corrupted
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Son of God, God incarnate, savior of the world
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| birth of Jesus |
virgin birth
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virgin birth
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| death of Jesus |
did not die, but ascended into heaven during
crucifixion
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death by crucifixion
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| resurrection of Jesus |
denied
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affirmed
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| second coming of Jesus |
affirmed
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affirmed
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| divine revelation |
through Muhammad, recorded in Qur'an
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through Prophets and Jesus (as God Himself),
recorded in Bible
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| view of sacred text |
inspired, literal word of God, inerrant in
original languages
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inspired, some believe inerrant in original
languages
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| human nature |
equal ability to do good or evil
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"original sin" inherited from Adam - tendency
towards evil
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| means of salvation |
correct belief, good deeds, Five Pillars
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correct belief, faith, good deeds, sacraments
(some Protestants emphasize faith alone)
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| God's role in salvation |
predestination
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predestination, various forms of grace
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| good afterlife |
eternal paradise
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eternal heaven
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| bad afterlife |
eternal hell
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eternal hell, temporary purgatory (Catholicism)
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| view of fellow Abrahamic religions |
Jews and Christians are respected as "People of
the Book," but they have wrong beliefs and only partial
revelation.
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Judaism is a true religion, but with incomplete
revelation. Islam is a false religion.
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